The Best Kids' Tablets for 2019

Sprint offers constant, super-low-cost promotions, perhaps more than any other major wireless carrier. If you choose Sprint for your mobile service, these top-rated phones should be on your short list.

Sprinting Ahead

Sprint's future is up in the air. According to our latest Fastest Mobile Networks tests, Sprint now has the fastest 4G LTE downloads in nine major US cities—a big step forward for the perpetually fourth-place wireless carrier. So it's improving. But it's also trying to merge with T-Mobile in a way that would lead to a T-Mobile takeover of Sprint. Top Sprint phones would be able to take advantage of T-Mobile's 4G LTE network, so you don't need to worry about your phone being obsolete, but if the merger does finally go through, there will certainly be a whole bunch of new plans, options, and device strategies.

Picking a Sprint phone can require a little more attention than choosing an AT&T or Verizon phone because Sprint's network is unique. It uses bands and technologies no other carrier in the US does (specifically, LTE band 41 and CDMA 1X Advanced), so it ends up missing out on some phones that are popular elsewhere, and instead gets an unusual number of exclusives. If the T-Mobile merger goes through, we think those unique technologies will be turned off in favor of T-Mobile's more globally compatible LTE system.

The two 4G technologies to look for on your Sprint phone are gigabit LTE and HPUE, or "high performance user equipment." Gigabit LTE combines 3x carrier aggregation and 4x4 MIMO antennas on Sprint's high-speed LTE band 41 to get the best possible speeds. HPUE boosts upload speeds and range. The carrier is also just now starting to introduce VoLTE, or phone calling over 4G LTE, but that launch strategy would change if the T-Mobile merger goes through (as T-Mobile has much more broadly compatible VoLTE).

On this list, the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9+, Galaxy S10e, iPhone XS Max, LG G8, LG V50, and Pixel 3 all have 4x4 MIMO on band 41 for the best possible Sprint speeds.

The 10 phones here are a solid mix of our Sprint picks from low end to high. Take the iPhones, for instance. Right now, we don't see a huge difference between the iPhone 7 and 8 generations, so if you aren't going to get an iPhone XS, you should save a little money and go for a 7.

The Best Flip Phones for Sprint

Sprint, uniquely, still relies on its old 2G network for phone calls, and it's committed to supporting it until 2021. So unlike on other carriers, existing older flip and voice phones will work fine on Sprint without declining coverage and quality, for a few more years at least. Unfortunately, according to the National Wireless Independent Dealers Association, you can no longer activate used, older phones without 4G if you buy them on eBay, for instance.

We have put one very good voice phone at the end of this list: the Sonim XP3. The XP3 is a tough, future-proof flip phone that supports calling over Sprint's 4G network (and T-Mobile's, if the carriers merge).

The Best 5G Phones for Sprint

I'm more comfortable with people buying a 5G phone on Sprint right now than on any other carrier. Sprint's mid-band 5G is going to blanket cities with speeds about double that of LTE, whether or not Sprint merges with T-Mobile. And these are big, high-end, good-looking phones that will perform well whether you're on 4G or 5G.

If Sprint does merge with T-Mobile, the combined company will have an unusually complicated, tri-band 5G setup, and I don't know if even the late-2019 phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will be able to handle it; it may be 2020 before phones can access all of the different bands and systems the combined carrier would use.

Sprint has currently identified nine cities for its 5G launch this spring and summer: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, LA, New York, Phoenix and Washington DC. If you live and work in a central area of one of those cities and feel you need even faster Sprint download speeds, the LG V50 is a fine choice for now. You can check out our full results from testing Sprint 5G for a day in Dallas with the V50.

While there's always something new around the corner, you really can't go wrong with any of the PCMag-approved phones listed here. If you need more help buying a phone, check out our cell phone product guide for the most recent reviews. While you're at it, take a look at our guides for the best phones on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. And see our Readers' Choice picks for 2019's top mobile carriers.

About the Author

PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.

Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed to the Frommer's series of travel guides and Web sites for more than a decade. Other than his home town of New York, his favorite ... See Full Bio